Merry Rikkai Christmas
by Sandileina
Summary: Christmas with Rikkai, along with some random little moments that mean so much and absolutely nothing at the same time. CRACK, I warn you now!


**Disclaimer: **Here's a random fact: A Gordon Setter has pips above its eyes. Here's another random fact: I don't own Prince of Tennis, or any of the characters. :)

**Rating: **PG, most likely… I really, really don't think this could be counted as PG-13.

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai/yaoi, some Niou, crack, fluff?

**Summary: **Christmas with Rikkai, along with some random little moments that mean so much and absolutely nothing at the same time. CRACK, I warn you now!

**Author's notes:** Another Rikkai drabblething. **You don't have to have read the ones that come before this, but it might help a bit. **The full list can be found on my profile.The latest ten drabblethings are:

**Eep, Crayons, and Parrots with Problems**

**The Waiting Camel**

**Operation: Gentleman Hunt**

**A Little Autumn Tale**

**Cases in Point**

**The Theology of Scarves**

"**He'll Live."**

**Kick the Trickster!**

**Mr Rubik, I Want My Sunday Back.**

**Merry Rikkai Christmas**

_**For everyone who has ever reviewed any of my Rikkai Drabblethings.**_ Without you, I would not be able to continue churning out fics, no matter how much I enjoy doing it. Wo0t for you all!

So, I thought I'd try something a little different this Christmas. n.n;; (Yes, I _will_ be updating Operation: CP this holidays. Sometime.) Here are some of the happier random little moments in time that never made it into my Drabblethings. Enjoy, and merry Christmas/other holidays being celebrated!

(Not in chronological order. Literally random.)

-------------------------------

Date: November 12th 06, 7:41 pm

Niou yawned and rolled over onto his side, looked at Yagyuu for a second, then rolled right back over to his back.

"Entertain me," he said plaintively.

Yagyuu didn't look up from his textbook. "I'm almost done."

"Liar," Niou snorted, but he didn't speak again after that.

Yagyuu didn't hurry – if Niou really was bored, then something bad would have happened by now. As it was, the Trickster seemed reasonably happy to lie on Yagyuu's floor and contemplate his ceiling.

"What do you want to do?" Yagyuu asked at last, writing the last couple of words and shutting the notebook. He had an inkling though; he knew Niou pretty well by now.

"I dunno. It's your house."

"You're the one who turned up on my doorstep."

"And?"

The tiniest ghost of a smile flickered behind Yagyuu's glasses. "Do you want to just put the television on, be mindlessly entertained by reality shows and winter sports and then be ushered out at midnight?"

"Sounds good."

Date: January 7th 07, 4:12 pm

Sanada smiled a little as he read Atobe's text. It was virtually a letter – it took him about ten minutes to read, and he was a fairly quick reader.

Tomorrow, Atobe was coming back from Germany. Sanada was a bit embarrassed to admit to himself that he couldn't wait. He'd missed him, damnit, even if it had only been a week.

'Don't speak German to me when you get back,' he texted. 'Not even a word, do you understand?'

Half a minute or so later, Atobe's reply came whizzing back. 'Why?'

Sanada hesitated before replying, 'I don't like not understanding people when they speak.'

It wasn't really the truth, but Sanada was damned if he was going to tell Atobe that he resented the Germans for existing and taking away his Kei.

Date: December 25th 07, 7:13 am

"OMGIT'SCHRISTMAS!" Akaya whooped with glee, eyes bright and alert the instant he'd woken up. "Happy Christmas, Haruhi!" With great love and care, Akaya petted his goldfish through the glass of the fish tank. He raced downstairs and out through the back door – Niou could faintly hear him through the slightly-open window as Akaya darted into the greenhouse to wish Niou's 'pets' a happy Christmas: "Good morning, Trousers! Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas, Not A Cat! But no happy Christmas for _you_, Mr. Wiggles, because you don't deserve it."

There was a pause, then Akaya relented, "Well, ok, you can have a _little_ happy Christmas." There was further silence, and Niou knew that Akaya was probably whispering glad tidings to the tarantula.

Niou buried his head under his pillow as Akaya came racing back upstairs – his aunt and uncle wouldn't mind, because they slept like logs, but Niou damn well _did_ mind.

"It's eight o'clock, Niou-senpai! You have to get up and we can open our presents! We – OW!" Akaya nursed the side of his head.

"There," said Niou muffledly, hand retreating back under his duvet. "I gave you a present. Merry Christmas. Now open your presents _quietly_ and let me sleep."

Akaya's wounded expression turned to one of barely-silent ecstasy and, holding Niou's present with great care and reverence in one hand, he scooped up all his other presents and buried himself under his blankets to open them.

Date: March 19th 07, 1:35 pm

"Just one word?"

"Yep."

Jackal shrugged. "Yeah, alright. Only one?"

"Yes! Jeez, it isn't rocket science."

"It's a strange way to pass the time," said Jackal defensively.

"Ok, ok, I'll start," chuckled Marui. "It."

"Was."

"A."

"Fine."

"Day."

"In."

"The."

"Fluffy."

"World."

"Of."

"Pink."

"Squeaky."

"Chairs."

"A."

"Turtle."

"Was."

"Flying."

"Through."

"An."

"Eagle."

"Because."

"The."

"Eagle."

"Had."

"A."

"Hole."

"In."

"His."

"Stomach."

"The."

"Eagle."

"Wasn't."

"Pleased."

"He."

"Said."

"'Mind."

"My."

"Dentures."

"Damnit.'"

Jackal looked dubious as to whether that counted as one word or two, but let it pass. "The."

"Turtle."

"Replied."

"'I'm."

"Sorry."

"I."

"Ate."

"A."

"Big."

"Buffalo."

"For."

"Breakfast."

"And."

"My."

"Legal."

"Record."

"Of."

"Juvenile."

"Delinquency."

"Has."

"Shot."

"Through."

"The."

"Sheriff's."

"Roof.'"

Unable to keep the game going for lack of oxygen, Marui finally let himself laugh properly. He and Jackal cackled hysterically until their stomachs felt as though they'd rip.

Date: August 20th 07, 4:48 pm

Girls should blush when asking this sort of thing, Yagyuu decided forlornly.

"So will you come with us?"

"That would be lovely, Ohtani-chan," Yagyuu said politely, but with sincerity.

The girl grinned abruptly. "Great. But please call me Kae, ne?"

"As you like, Kae-chan. In fairness, you may call me Hiroshi if you like."

Ohtani shook her head. "Thank you, but that's alright. Niou-kun is the only one I've ever heard call you Hiroshi, and… I don't know; it just seems kind of a shame to break that."

To his surprise, Yagyuu found himself strongly appreciating the sentiment.

Date: December 18th 07, 1:04 pm

"Hey, Mura?" said Niou lazily, the fingers of his left hand playing with a 100 yen coin with skill born of overlong chemistry lessons.

"Hmm?"

"Out of you and Fuji Syuusuke, who would be uke?"

Yukimura and Sanada both choked on their drinks.

"Tarundoru!!" barked Sanada in between coughs. "Don't make me assign you laps, Niou Masaharu!"

Niou smirked toothily at him. "You can't, fukubuchou. You don't hold any power in the high school tennis club yet."

"See now, _this_ is a good subject for a debate," came Yagyuu's calm voice from the opposite side of the table to Niou.

"No it isn't," snorted Marui. "It's rubbish. Mura would blatantly be seme."

"Such would be the assumption," said Yagyuu, "but there is a great deal of depth to Seigaku's Tensai's character, one feels."

"If you're going to be in this debate, then you have to use 'I' instead of 'one'," said Jackal firmly.

"Um," said Yukimura.

"I guess there probably _is_ some depth, yeah, but there's no way he's seme out of him and Mura. Sure, he can be pretty scary, but Mura's like, 'Mwa, I own over all,' so it's irrelevant," said Marui decisively.

"Excuse me," said Yukimura.

"On the flip side of the coin, however, one senses… Apologies; _I_ sense that in juxtaposition to Yukimura's core of steel and strong leadership, Fuji-kun has a similar core of calculating magma. Thusly, magma is arguably stronger than steel…"

"Pft," said Niou. "Just because magma can melt steel it doesn't mean it's necessarily stronger."

"A point I knew you'd make," nodded Yagyuu.

"Ex_cuse_ me," said Yukimura.

"I kind of have the feeling Fuji would be seme," said Jackal thoughtfully. "I'm not entirely sure why, though."

"He's got that kind of weird 'Oh, _this_ hammer? No, no, I'm only fixing this fence here' feel to him. And then you find later that your bag's been nailed irretrievably to the wall," drawled Niou.

There was a pause as everyone considered this analogy from all possible angles.

Yukimura seized the opportunity. "Excuse _me_," he said. The table turned to look questioningly at him.

"I think," he said, very calmly, "that we should change the subject to something a little bit less mortifying than having my hypothetical sex life discussed in the school cafeteria."

Slowly, the four taking part in the discussion glanced back over their shoulders. The half of the cafeteria closest to them was watching them with extreme interest which most of them barely bothered to hide.

Niou got the uncanny feeling that he would be punished brutally for a long time to come.

Date: July 27th 07, 10:29 am

"You hungry?" Marui asked. Akaya nodded fervently.

"I'm _starving_! I haven't eaten for _years_," he complained.

Marui chuckled. "Since seven this morning, you mean?"

"Same thing."

Dipping a hand into his bag, Marui triumphantly pulled out a couple of buns and chucked one to his boyfriend. "They've got raisins in, but you'll live," he said.

Akaya attacked the bun hungrily, making little crumb-filled noises of bliss.

Marui snorted. "You're welcome."

Date: December 25th 07, 8:30 am

Rising from sleep was a slow process that Jackal enjoyed almost every morning. Today was no exception – in fact, it was even better because he knew that when he finally got out of bed, a good Christmas breakfast would be in order followed by present-opening and semi-peaceful quality time with his parents and other relatives that had come over for Christmas.

Contentedly, Jackal allowed himself one of three of his permitted unfestive thoughts for today. "I don't envy Niou at all this morning," he murmured out loud, "for having to live with Akaya on Christmas Day. Take _that_, Niou. Ha, I may have to be his babysitter occasionally, but at least Akaya's not my responsibility on his most hyperactive day of the year. Who's laughing now, Trickster?"

Of course, two hours and eleven minutes later, Jackal found himself completely overrun with his cousins, wishing desperately that he only had to take care of a single overgrown kid instead of six little ones.

Date: October 12th 06, 12:20 pm

"Rubbish!" yelled Marui with a massive grin. "Come on, Yagyuu! You can do better than that! Of course, I _am_ a tensai," he winked, flashing his V sign. "You probably-"

The ball thundered past his head, crashing into the wire fence behind the court.

"Is that better?" asked Yagyuu mildly.

To the side of the court, Niou was doubled over with cackles of laughter. Marui shot him a glare, but that only made the bleach-haired boy laugh harder. Yagyuu didn't acknowledge him as he got ready to serve again, but there was a slightly pleased air about his eyebrows.

Date: June 22nd 07, 5:13 pm

Yukimura stared intently at the open textbook in front of him. Anyone passing by the table where he sat in the library would assume that he was studying hard, and feel approval for such a dedicated student.

Yanagi, however, had been watching his joint-best friend for the better part of ten minutes, and Yukimura hadn't turned a single page.

Nudging Sanada with a foot, Yanagi scribbled something down on a piece of paper and passed it to him discreetly. He needn't have worried about Yukimura looking up – the boy seemed currently oblivious to the rest of the world.

_Do you remember if Mura started this study session on page 51_? Sanada read. He gave Yanagi a Look, then wrote down in reply, _I'm not you_ and passed it back over the tabletop.

_I don't think he's turned that page in a long time, anyway_, wrote Yanagi. _Do you think he's worrying about something_? _He tends to stare things into an alternate dimension when he's worrying_.

_I know, but maybe he's just thinking hard about a maths problem_? suggested Sanada.

_Unlikely. I've yet to see a maths problem in a textbook that Mura can't do in five minutes max._

_Just ask him, then_, Sanada wrote.

_If he wanted to tell us, then surely he would have by now_?

_Renji, what's the probability of Yukimura worrying about something important without you either knowing what it is or being able to make an educated guess_?

_About 1.6 percent._

_There you go, then. Just ask._ With that, Sanada put down his pen and said in a suitably libraryish voice, "Yukimura?"

For a moment there was no reply, and Sanada was about to open his mouth again when Yukimura blinked as though the page had jumped, and turned to him.

"Hmm? Sorry?" he said.

"You've been staring at that page for a long time, and Renji's concerned that you're worrying," said Sanada matter-of-factly. "Why?"

"Why am I staring at the page, you mean?"

"Yes."

Yukimura shook his head. "You don't need to be concerned, Renji. What's the probability of me worrying about something important without you either knowing what it is or being able to make an educated guess?"

"About 1.6 percent," sighed Yanagi.

"There you go, then." Yukimura returned to his staredown.

"So… Why are you staring at the page, then?" Yanagi asked.

"Oh, yes." Yukimura looked a tad sheepish. "Well, I decided that 'locus' is a topic with very little point to it, and I thought it could be more constructive if I did a little experiment and wrote up my findings in an essay for the maths teacher instead of finishing the exercise. I'm sure he'll appreciate the extra effort."

"… You mean, you got bored and decided to see if you could stare the textbook into an alternate dimension," said Yanagi.

"You caught me."

Yanagi shook his head and chuckled wryly. "If you're bored, you should just find something else to do, you know. I'll see if I can find a puzzle book or something." He got up and headed off towards the Leisure section of the library.

When Yanagi was out of earshot, Sanada turned to Yukimura and raised his eyebrows. "So what were you really doing?" he asked. "You _never_ look sheepish."

A tiny glint of mischief lit up in Yukimura's eyes. "Well, locus _is_ a pointless topic. I thought it might be fun to see how long I could stare at the same page without Renji noticing. And I thought that once he asked me what was wrong, it was likely he'd go and find me something to do. So come on, let's go hide somewhere. I haven't played hide-and-seek since I was nine or ten, and I'm bored of being responsible. Akaya shouldn't get all the fun, you know." Not bothering to gather up his books, Yukimura simply grabbed his jacket and pulled an unwilling Sanada towards the exit of the library.

Date: August 9th 06, 11:59 pm

Oh. So _that_ was the difference between a vole and a shrew.

Normally-bright green eyes glazing a little, Akaya considered reaching for the remote and changing channels to something that would actually help him sleep, as opposed to something that would bore his mind so deeply that it refused to do anything except keep watching.

The documentary ended, but it was immediately followed by the next installment in the series – this one was to do with turtles.

The rest of the night was spent praying for the turtles to miraculously turn into camels and/or elephants, which would breathe fire and kill the narrator, who was _way_ too excited about the egg-laying habits of the Leatherback turtle and was really getting on Akaya's nerves, and then they'd all go and build an island made of lego bricks… with big cotton trees that could be… any flavour in the… wor…zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Date: May 30th 07, 1:06 pm

Hands tucked casually inside his pockets, Yagyuu turned the corner of the science department building and perked up slightly when he spotted Marui and Akaya standing under a tree, talking in hushed voices.

"But we _can't_," protested Akaya suddenly in an explosion of noise as Yagyuu approached. "What if it got stuck? Fukubuchou might have to have surgery! And the camel would be _furious_, I bet."

"Well, no, it would only get stuck if fukubuchou struggled, and he wouldn't struggle if he was asleep, right?"

"But then, isn't that illegal or something?" Akaya wondered.

Without breaking pace, Yagyuu turned neatly around and headed back the way he came. If he didn't hear it, then he needn't ever think about it. Ever.

Date: December 25th 07, 7:13 am

All his Christmas presents had been opened and individually appreciated. His parents, sister and relatives had a note outside their rooms, wishing each of them a very merry Christmas morning.

Now then, the golf course opened at eight, so Yagyuu had plenty of time to pack his golf clubs and head for the bus stop. It was always closed on Christmas Day, and usually Christmas Eve too, but this year there was some sort of business party going to golf there in the morning and so it was open.

Sensible people, these business types. They knew how to celebrate Christmas morning _properly_.

Date: June 15th 07, 5:02 pm

Jackal and Sanada exchanged a Rikkai-weary expression as the vending machine crashed overdramatically into the adjacent wall.

"That shouldn't be physically or scientifically or any other cally possible," said Jackal.

Sanada huffed bitterly. "That never seems to stop us."

"See, fukubuchou?! It hates your money! I told you so! Now the vending machine's dead!" wailed Akaya.

"Genichiroh," Yukimura scolded, hurrying over from the tennis court to pet Akaya's hair soothingly like a hurt puppy. "You shouldn't be so careless. You can't go around saying 'tarundoru' unless you master it yourself first!"

Sanada's jaw dropped and his vocal chords shut down at the injustice of it all. "B-but… but that… How was that my fault?!"

Akaya let out a fresh wail as he glimpsed the sad remains of the once-glorious vending machine. Yukimura made comforting shushing noises as Akaya buried his face into Yukimura's shoulder crook and sent a displeased glower in Sanada's direction. Jackal inched sideways until he was safely out of range. "Run twenty laps," Yukimura ordered.

Sanada's brain spasmed with disbelief. "But –"

"_Now_, Sanada Genichiroh!"

Well, that was the last time Sanada was ever lending Akaya money for a snack ever again.

Date: September 22nd 07, 10:05 am

"What are you getting Akaya for his birthday this year?" asked Yanagi idly.

Marui groaned and shut his eyes. "Yanagi, I swear to Buddha-sama's hilariously tiny loincloth… You just _had_ to pick that topic, didn't you?"

Smirking with far too many teeth for comfort, Niou said mock-conspiratorially, "He doesn't have a clue what to get the bratling."

"Yes, thank you, 'Haru," muttered Marui sarcastically. "Just in case Yanagi couldn't work that one out on his own."

"Well, you know me. I always like to help."

"Why don't you get him a camel?" suggested Yanagi. "A toy, I mean."

"Nah. Mura's getting him colouring books already, right? He's turning fifteen, for crying out loud. I mean, he's the world's biggest kid, but…" Marui's eyes suddenly lit up and he sat bolt upright, ignoring Niou's protests that good pillows were meant to stay _still_. "Can you get camel-shaped goldfish?"

"… Only in the world of the terminally insane, I should imagine."

"That could work. How do I get there?"

"Check the mirror," Niou snorted.

Date: July 31st 07, 2:46 pm

"Die, garden hose, die!!" Akaya hollered, stabbing madly at the out-of-control hose as it whizzed around the driveway, drenching everything within sight (and most things out of sight too).

"The traditional cry is, 'die, foul beast'," said Niou from his safety point just round the corner of the house. "And not that I care a battle-hardened camel for either the driveway or my aunt's gardening aids, but it might be a good idea to turn off the tap rather than put even more holes in the hose."

"But that would mean letting it _win_!"

"Normally, I'd say fair enough, but you're such a loser that I don't think it would make a difference," drawled Niou, the insult almost automatic.

If Akaya had been Marui, he would have flipped Niou off and continued his assault on the hose. However, Akaya being Akaya, he instead threw the kitchen knife in Niou's direction as hard as he could. Mid-air, a thin spray of water struck it square on the side and it sailed over the hedge, shaving off half the neighbour's cat's whiskers as it landed.

Utterly bedraggled and under assault from a vengeful tom cat, Akaya fled into the house where he sulked for the rest of the day.

Date: July 31st 07, 8:12 pm

Niou stared at the garden hose in the garage – ex-garden hose, rather. It had been sliced apart and otherwise destroyed with a single-minded determination, and the remains had been proudly arranged to spell, 'Ha, no garden hose can defeat me'.

Date: December 25th 07, 6:00 am

"Oh, please, no…" moaned Marui as the monstrous clamour of two pairs of little running feet grew louder. "It's a bad dream. I'm dreaming. I'm not here. I'm on a sunny beach with my boyfriend, watchi – OOF."

"ANIKI!" cheered Akio and Saku in unison, bouncing mercilessly up and down on Marui's stomach and chest. "Happy holidays!!"

"Ow. Gaaah. Jeez… Merry Christmas, I guess," Marui groaned.

"It's 'happy holidays'," Akio corrected. "Christmas is for Christians. That's what Yagyuu-san said."

"Not necessari - _ow_. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Wake up now so we can open our presents," begged Saku, tugging rhythmically on Marui's ear. "'Kaasan won't let us open them until aniki's up, so wake up!"

"It's six am! Go back to bed!" But then Marui paused, remembering his own hyperactive experiences of Christmas when he was the twins' age.

"Alright, alright," he sighed, lungs recovering slowly from the assault. "Gerroff me then, you ugly mugs, and let me get dressed."

"Yay!" the two whooped, squealing with excitement and dancing round Marui's bedroom like miniature banshees as Marui pulled on some clothes and took his morning dose of sugar.

"Ahh, Christmas sugar," he said with a dramatic sigh. "Can't beat it. Except maybe for Stolen From Fukubuchou sugar. Come on, let's go wake up 'Kaachan and 'Touchan."

Date: April 9th 07, 7:48 pm

Yagyuu looked politely bemused as Marui went from being a fairly calm, coffee-drinking teenager to a flurry of frantic movement.

"Marui-kun?" he said, temporarily dropping the part of his conscious mind that had to constantly remind him that his friends didn't need honorifics. "Did you lose something?"

A pen appeared out of nowhere with a skill that would have impressed even Yanagi, and one of the coffee shop's napkins met an early demise as Marui started scribbling on it.

"I forgot we have a biology test tomorrow," he wailed. "Now I have to write myself a reminder to revise and then look at it to remember to be reminded to revise and then I actually need to revise…"

Yagyuu plucked the pen from between Marui's fingers and said, "Or, you could remember that we had the test last week."

"No, that was chemis… try…" It slowly dawned on Marui that he'd revised for the wrong subject.

Crumpling up the napkin, Marui aimed it at the bin and grumbled, "Well, if they're _gonna_ give us two new teachers who look exactly the same except for their noses, then what the hell do they expect?"

Yagyuu decided not to point out that one of the two was female.

Date: November 15th 07, 3:00 pm

"Look, all I'm saying is, it's impossible for horses to rollerblade," argued Jackal.

"And I'm saying that it isn't; they just couldn't rollerblade _well_. But they could still manage given a bit of time," said Sanada.

"It isn't, though, because their hooves would go in different directions the first time they tried, which would probably sprain their legs or something."

Sanada snorted. "Horses are a little tougher than that. Besides, even if they fell over, having their legs go in different directions is hardly going to do them much damage."

"It must be like dogs. You know those pit-bull things? If they bite you, the only way to get them off is to rupture their heart by pulling their front legs out sideways." Jackal demonstrated with a gesture.

"That's ridiculous. And it isn't as though the horse's legs would be _pulled_ out by the rollerblades, even if the rollerblades were modified to exude some sort of gravitational force-field," said Sanada.

"… There's a tiny part of you that's begging to be disowned after hearing you take part in this argument, isn't there," said Yanagi with concealed amusement. He outright smiled with mirth as Sanada gave him a kicked-puppy expression that he usually reserved for Yukimura when Akaya was being particularly impossible.

Date: October 31st 06, 4:45 pm

"Wooh," said Akaya dramatically, waggling his hands and fingers through a gap in the sheet. "Wooooh!"

Niou turned to Marui and held out a hand. "I win," he said. Reluctantly, Marui reached into his pocket and handed Niou a thousand yen.

Curious, Yanagi asked, "What's this? A bet? You should know by now that it's impossible to win a bet against Niou."

"Doesn't stop me trying, it seems," said Marui ruefully.

Niou snickered a little. "Yeah. We bet that the baby bratling would do a Western-style impression if we asked him to pretend to be a ghost."

"Ah."

There was a brief pause, broken by the clubhouse door swinging open and Sanada walking through, dusting chalk off his cap.

A thoughtful look passed through Marui's eyes, quickly followed by the closest thing to calculating that he ever got. "Double or nothing?" he suggested hopefully.

Date: December 25th 07, 9:18 am

Sanada glanced up from reading the blurb of a new book. The phone was ringing – putting the book down, he called out, "I'll get it," and went to do so.

As he thought, Yanagi was on the other end. "Good morning, Genichiroh. Happy Christmas."

"You too, Renji. How's your family?"

"They're all good. Thoroughly enjoying Christmas, and Esther's currently working on both stoning herself on catnip and getting all the cats in the neighbourhood to join her. Yours?"

"Oneesan couldn't make it, as it turns out, but she's arriving tomorrow morning so that's just as good, really."

"Mm." On the other end of the line, Sanada could virtually hear Yanagi nodding. "Anyway, I was primarily calling to remind you that Mura invited us to his at four today."

This time, it was Sanada's turn to nod. "Of course."

"Just in case you forgot. I know what you're like when you get stuck in a book, Genichiroh." There was faint amusement in Yanagi's voice.

"Hm. Well. I'll be very careful today."

"Excellent. Oh, and bring a healthy supply of Christmas cheer with you; Akaya will be high on the atmosphere and occasion, Niou and Yagyuu will be feeling festive and be probably completely interchangeable for a few hours at least, Jackal will be manic from high-pressure babysitting and Marui will be high on sugar. Although, actually, he may well be in a sugar-induced coma by four o'clock. I give that a 4.9 percent chance."

Already, Sanada could feel his resolve whimpering a little. He patted it reassuringly and said, "This year, I have a plan. I'm going to ignore as much of the madness as possible, stick within a two-metre radius of Yukimura at all times, and take a slight overdose of aspirin."

"Ah, that well-known cure. I'll see you at four, then." Yanagi hung up, and Sanada followed suit. He went back up to his bedroom and picked a random new book to investigate, already starting the process of bracing himself for four o'clock.

_Honestly_, Sanada sighed internally. No other team spent Christmas Day together. Then again, no other team was quite as close-knit as they'd grown.

No other team was quite as off-the-charts, mayday-mayday-the-ship's-going-down Crazy, either. Hmm.

Never mind.

Date: February 1st 07, 10:03 am

Damnit. He _always_ forgot to buy lightbulbs.

Sighing, Marui turned back and headed resignedly for the supermarket again. But about three streets away from it, he turned the corner and walked slap bang into a little cardboard box.

"By _dose_," he complained bitterly, glowering at the Trickster in front of him who was wearing his usual lazy smirk. "Dat hurd, you basdard!"

"Aww, but I was nice enough to get your lightbulbs for you," drawled Niou, tossing the little box to Marui. "You always forget to buy them when your mama sends you out shopping."

"Hey, shuddup." Marui wrinkled his nose painfully a few times, then said experimentally, "Nine nasty Niou knives knotted Marui's mask." Looking pleased with himself, Marui tucked the box of lightbulbs into the plastic shopping bag as he started to walk. Then he blinked and said, "Wait, how the hell do _you_ know that I always forget to buy lightbulbs?"

Niou winked and fell into step beside him. "Ah, I have my ways."

"… You stalk me when I go to buy stuff, don't you."

"No."

"You've trained Trousers to follow me and film my every move on camera, haven't you."

"No."

"You torture all sorts of trivial information out of Akaya, don't you."

"No."

Marui rolled his eyes and grinned. "Alright, alright, keep your damn secrets, O most mysterious 'Haru. What were you doing at the supermarket anyway?"

"Coincidence. I was just gonna buy a can of iced coffee, but then I saw you. And it's your duty as my best friend to buy me a coffee now."

"What?! No it isn't! You still owe _me_ a coffee, now that I come to think of it…"

"I paid that off last week, sugar-for-brains. And I won our match on Sunday, therefore you owe me coffee. Or you can buy me a pack of cigarettes, but they're about six hundred yen more expensive."

"You know, someday your lungs are gonna set on fire, and then you'll be sorry," Marui snorted. Mentally, he plotted a route for the closest coffee shop and changed direction accordingly.

"If that happens, I'll just make sure you're standing next to me so you'll catch on fire when my lungs melt through my chest."

Marui pulled a face. "Nice mental image. Cheers, 'Haru." Ignoring the people around them, the two continued bantering and bickering loudly (and occasionally violently) all the way to the coffee shop.

Date: December 1st 07, 7:16 am

Niou really hated those dreams where a steam train was coming towards you at a hundred thousand billion miles an hour, only to be stopped in the nick of time by a giant grasshopper in a suit who would then proceed to take you out to dinner, except the music being played wasn't at all to his taste.

Well, no, it wasn't so much that he hated those dreams as he hated waking up afterwards and seeing that Akaya had fallen asleep without switching off the radio playing Surreal FM – "Our Thoughts, _Your_ Reality!"

He also hated how vulnerable his subconscious was when he was sleeping.

Date: December 25th 07, 11: 44 am

"Ne, ne, Oniisan! Lets play with this one next!" said Mie excitedly, tugging at Yukimura's sleeve. "Look, it's got a big instruction book. That means it's gonna be good, right?"

"Sure," smiled Yukimura, picking up the complex-looking board game and taking it in for a few moments before starting to skim carefully through the instructions.

"Mie, leave Seiichi alone for two minutes," their mother clucked from the kitchen. "It's Christmas Day for everyone, you know. Let him use some of his own presents for a bit, hmm?"

Yukimura shook his head. "It's alright, I don't mind."

Their mother sighed and shook her head in resigned fondness. "Honestly, Seiichi," she said, retreating back to the kitchen, "if your tennis career doesn't work out, you can always find good work in care of some kind. I'm sure it'll be a lot less lonely than tennis."

Yukimura glanced up from the instructions. "Tennis isn't lonely," he protested mildly.

"It seems so to me. Playing all alone on a big empty court? I always thought it seemed alienating, having to fight on your own."

The Yukimura siblings shared a mutual Look that said, 'She doesn't understand,' although truthfully Mie's was more copied from Yukimura's than provided of her own free thoughts.

"Tennis isn't just a game," said Yukimura, and there was a gentle glow of warmth in his voice. "It's a very particular mindset. It's a passion shared with people who feel the same way you do. You're never alone on a tennis court, Okaasan, because there must always be an opponent. And having fought the good fight, as they say…" Yukimura's eyes grew slightly distant. "… There are people who will welcome you back all the more fiercely."

"Like Sanada-san and Yanagi-san and Kirihara-san and all the other Regulars?" asked Mie, brow furrowed in attempted understanding.

Blinking, Yukimura returned to normal reality. "We're not all Regulars anymore," he corrected with a little smile.

"But the Originals is a stupid name," Mie declared. "Even if Kirihara-san came up with it, it still sounds like a bad manga title."

"… Mm. Well, whatever you call us, yes, I mean like them. Our Dysfunctional Family," Yukimura mused with a chuckle. "Ah, that reminds me. They're all coming over later today, so you can play this board game with us if you want, for a while."

Mie beamed. "Yeah!"

"Alright. Let me just work out how you actually play it, then. Forty-six pages… Who designs a game for children four plus with forty-six pages of instructions, anyway?"

-------------------------------

Sandy: Who indeed.

'Kaachan: Informal way of saying 'mother', or 'mum'.

Okaasan/'Kaasan: Ways of saying 'mother' of 'mum'.

'Touchan: Informal way of saying 'father' or 'dad'.

Aniki: Tokyo-style/informal way of saying 'big brother'.

Oniisan: Big brother. Used primarily by young(ish) girls nowadays.

San: As in 'Yanagi-san'. Honorific usually given to people older/respected by you.

Kun: As in 'Marui-kun'. Honorific generally given to boys your age or younger.

My excuse: This is nearly 6,000 words long. It took me forever to come up with a good way of doing all the 'moments', and hours to write. That's why this is five days late. n.n;; Man, I'm so pathetic at getting fics out on time – I was aiming to post this on Christmas Day. It doesn't bode well for my important papers coming up, really.

Anyways. XD I really hope you enjoyed, and happy holidays to you! In the festive spirit, please leave me a review? If you're kind enough on top of that to quote your favourite bit from this or any other Drabblething, then that would help me enormously. Constructive criticism, questions, rambles, theories, blind worship, muffins… all are welcomed and loved.

Until next time!


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